Ranji Trophy: Mumbai’s slide continues

In their last three Ranji games, Mumbai had landed themselves in similar situations of strife.

On a day he took a five-for, Shardul Thakur was probably in two minds when asked if he was happy with his performance or worried about the mood in the Mumbai dressing room. Mumbai, in midst of a horror start to the Ranji season, were reduced to 42 for 3 after Thakur had finished with 6 for 53, his second five-wicket haul, to help restrict Uttar Pradesh to 206.

“Right now, they (UP) are on top,” Thakur said. “Our batsmen have plenty of work to do on this pitch.” It certainly won’t be easy task ahead. Mumbai isn’t the team it used to be and the pitch has plenty of assistance for the seamers.

In their last three Ranji games, Mumbai had landed themselves in similar situations of strife. Against J&K they were 66 for 4 on day two and against Railways they were 25 for 3 at the end of third day. Things were similarly dire on Monday at the end of the second day’s play at Green Park Stadium.

Leading the way

The day had begun well with Thakur leading the way. He removed Prashant Gupta and Umang Sharma nicked in successive overs in the morning.

Later, he returned to knock out the experienced Parvinder Singh and soon, castled Arish Alam and induced Tanmay Srivastava to edge behind.

“I think Tanmay Srivastava deserves a lot of credit for the way he batted in difficult conditions,” Thakur said.

“He showed plenty of patience, and we need to replicate that.”

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Brief scores: Uttar Pradesh 206 all out in 84.4 overs (T Srivastava 67, P Gupta 41; S Thakur 6/53). Mumbai 42/3 in 17 over (A Mishra 2/13).

Devendra Pandey

Having spent years covering Mumbai’s local "maidan" cricket circuit, Devendra Pandey brings a unique ground-level perspective to his reporting. ... Read More

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